The development of marriage and family therapy in East Asia (China, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong): past, present and future

The discipline of marriage and family therapy (MFT) has been established around the world. Inspired by theories and models developed in Western countries, professionals in East Asian countries over the last two decades have been dedicated to introducing the concepts of MFT to local mental health professionals. This paper presents an overview of the cultural background of East Asian cultures, a summary of MFT development in East Asia, and a discussion of key challenges to advancing MFT in East Asia. We provide recommendations to overcome these obstacles, including bridging the gap between MFTs in the West and East Asia, developing country‐specific MFT development plans, establishing accreditation and licensing regulation, increasing the public awareness of MFT, increasing collaboration among training institutes and the number of qualified MFT trainers and training locations, and developing culturally attuned MFT training and practices. Practitioner points Direct application of Western approaches to the East Asian context can be detrimental if therapists do not carefully examine the cultural differences and adapt accordingly A critical step in developing MFT in East Asia is to develop country/region‐specific plans including the recognition of the history, values, and distinctive features of Asian families 抽象 东亚（中国、台湾、日本、韩国和香港）婚姻家庭治疗的发展：过去、现在和未来 婚姻家庭治疗（MFT）学科已经在世界范围内建立起来。在西方发达国家理论和模式的启发下，东亚各国的专业人士在过去20年内一直致力于将MFT的概念介绍给当地的心理健康专业人员。本文概述了东亚各文化的文化背景，总结了MFT在东亚的发展历程，并讨论了在东亚进一步推动MFT的主要挑战。我们提供了一些克服这些障碍的建议，包括弥合西方和东亚MFT的差距，制定针对具体国家的MFT发展计划，建立认证和注册规范，提高公众对MFT的认知度，增加培训机构之间的合作以及合格的MFT培训师和培训场所的数量，并发展适应文化的MFT培训和实践。 对从业者的启示 如果治疗师不仔细研究中西文化差异并进行相应调整，而是直接将西方方法应用于东亚情境，这种做法可能有害 在东亚发展MFT的一个关键步骤是制定针对具体国家的计划，包括认识到东亚家庭的历史、价值观和独有特点 Resumen El desarrollo de la terapia de pareja y familiar en el este de Asia (China, Taiwán, Japón, Corea del Sur y Hong Kong): pasado, presente y futuro La terapia familiar y de pareja (MFT por sus siglas en inglés) se ha establecido en todo el mundo. Inspirados en las teorías y modelos desarrollados en los países occidentales, los profesionales de los países de Asia oriental durante las últimas dos décadas se han dedicado a presentar los conceptos de MFT a los profesionales locales de salud mental. Este artículo presenta una visión general de los antecedentes culturales de las culturas de Asia Oriental, un resumen del desarrollo de la MFT en Asia Oriental y una discusión de los desafíos clave para avanzar en la MFT en Asia Oriental. Proporcionamos recomend